Internal-combustion engine.



J. HARRINGTON, DECD.

A. 0. HARRINGTON, EXBGUTRIX. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION IILBE A'PRJ 1913.

1,100,975, Patented June 23, 1914.

2 SHBETSSHEET l.

WITNESSES:

Mg m M W aMcu Ul a-Q51 INVEN TOR J. HARRINGTON, DECD. A. 04 HARRINGTON, EXEOUT'RIX. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED n.2, 1913.

Patqnt ed June 23, 1914.

2 SHEETS8HEET 2.

WITNESSES:

INV EN TOR UNITED STATES .PTENT OFFICE.

J'oiiNHA-BmNeroN, nncnasnn, LATE or MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, Br ALMENA c. HARRINGTON, EXECUTRIX, or MOUNTAIN tiInW, CALIFORNIA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 23, 1914.

Application filed April 2, 1913. Serial No. 758,331.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that JOHN HARRINGTON, deceased, formerly a citizen of the United States, residing at Mountain View, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, did invent a new and useful Improvement in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to prime movers and particularly to internal combustion, liquid-fuel engines.

The object of the present invention is to provide an internal combustion engine for the use of crude oil, or other liquid fuels, and particularly to provide an internal cOmbustion engine with a two-cycle operation.

The present invention consists in the improvement in internal combustion, liquidfuel or oil engines in which the piston and engine casings are so designed and proportioned that a highly efiicient motor is produced in which a low-grade fuel oil can .be directly injected into the combustion chamber of the engine andignited by the heat of certain parts of the en;

gineand by the temperature of compression, and which engine is provided with novel means for producing an increased power efliciency by improving the thorough ness of the scavenging of the cylinder, a ter an explosion, and for increasing the eduction of the exhaust gases, and in providing means for varying the power of the engine through changes in the eriod at which the exhaust valves. are closed? Recent successful experiments with an engin'e involving the features of the construc tion of the present invention disclose and demonstrate'that a low-grade fuel can be injected into the combustion chamber of an engine of the type of the present invention and ignited regularly by the heat of com-' pression and of the engine parts without the necessity of extraneous igniting devices; the engine running smoothly and continuously with crude oil as a fuel.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which igure 1 is a central vertical section through the improved type of engine. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line sc m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the timing shafts of the exhaust valves and fuel inlet valve. Fig. 4 is a central vertical detail section showing the combined fuel inlet valve and initial ignition device.

In the present invention the engine comprises a cylinder 2, having at its upper portion a combustion chamber 3 in which is reciprocal a piston 4, which, when running downwardly toward its lowermost position, clears the lower end of the chamber 3 and runs on and is guided bya plurality of ribs or ways 5. A suitable number of the ribs or ways 5 is provided with their faces alin-' ing with the walls of the combustion chamber 3; the ribs extending outwardly and joining with the lower enlarged portion 5 of the casing 2.

Formed concentrically within the enlarged part of the casing is an inner cylinder 6 forming a pump chamber 7 the diameter of which is somewhat lar -er than that of the piston 4; the latter being provided at its lower end with an enlarged portion or flange 8 having arunning fit with the walls of the pump cylinder 6. The piston 4 is connected by a connecting-rod 9 with the crank 10 of a crank-shaft 11, mounted in the journals 12 of the engine. The cranks swing in a compression chamber 13, preferably suiiiciently tight to hold air under pressure; a charge of air being induced into the compression chamber 13 when the piston i is on its upward stroke and admitted ast an air induction valve 14 normally seated by a spring 15.

Between the concentric cylinders or walls 56 of the engine casing there is formed an annularchamber 16 communicating freely between the ribs or ways 55 with the compression chamber 13, in which air will be compressed by the piston 4, when on its downward stroke; the compressed air equalizing in the compression chamber 13 and the annular chamber 16. As the piston 4 runs clear of the walls of the combustion chamber 3, as in the position shown in Fig. 1, a charge of compressed air rushes from the compression chamber 13 upwardly through the annular chamber 16 and over the head of the piston, as indicated by the arrows a.

Mounted in the head of the engine are exhaust valves 17 of which a suitable number may be provided to give ample area for the exhaust of burnt gases from the combustion chamber 3. The valves 17 are opened in time proper time by cams 18 having movable or adjustable segments. 19; the fixed parts of the cams 18 being secured on a cam sleeve or tubular shaft 20 turnable in suitable bearings 21 and having at one end a gear 22. The gear 22 meshes with a driving gear 23, here shown as secured on the upper end of a shaft 24 extending downwardly at the side of the engine, its lower portion being arranged between the cylinder walls 5 and 6 in the chamber 16. The lowermost end of the shaft 24 carries a gear 25 meshing with a pinion 26 secured on the contiguous portion of the crank-shaft 11; the gears 25 and 26 preferably being disposed inside of the compression chamber 13 so that when the latter is charged with a lubricant, during the operation of the engine, the splashing of the lubricant will insureconstant lubrication of the gears 25 and 26.

The cams 18 are so secured on their shaft 20 as to produce the opening of the valves 17 in proper time. F or the purpose of controlling the de ree and period of compression of air in t is combustion chamber 3 by the piston 4 on its upward stroke, the segmental sections 19-19 of the cams are adapted to be adjusted relatively to the fixed parts of the cams 18. This adjustment is accomplished by any suitable means, here shown as comprising an inner shaft 27, fitting the sleeve 20 and being adapted for endwise movement by a threaded bushing 28 turnable in a threaded bearing or box 29- attached to the engine casing; the shaft-27 beingheld against endwise movement relative to the-bushing 28 but turnable freely therein. The shaft 27 is provided with one or more inclined or spiral cams or cam slots 30, into which project pins 31 of the segmental cam sections 19. These latter are mounted for turning movement on the sleeve shaft 20, and the peripheral faces of the cams 1819 coincide transversely and are adapted to rest on the upper ends of the stems of the valves 17 during the operation of the cam shaft 20.

During the operation of the engine, the

fixed cams 18 revolve into engagement with the contiguous portions of their respective exhaust valves 17 and depress the latter to permit the exhaust of the burnt gases from the combustion chamber 3, and the period for which the exhaust valves may be held open may be determined by the circumferential adjustment of the cam segments 19 with relation to their complementary, relatively stationary cams 18. The pressure at which a charge of air in the combustion chamber 3 is admitted over the head of the piston 4, when this is in its lowermost position, is determined by the time of closing of the exhaust valves 17 with relation to the position of the piston 4 in the chamber 3.

flhould it be desired to increase the degree of pressure of a charge of air in the combustion chamber 3, then the valve segments" 19 would be circumferentially shifted, with re lation to the fixed cams 18, so that the valves would be released from the control of the cams early in the upward movement of the piston 4 and the latter would begin to compress the fresh charge of air in the chamber 3 shortly after it entered the chamber 3 when riding off of the guides 5. Conversely, when the charge of air in the combustion chamber 3 was to be compressed to a lesser degree, then the segmental cams 19 would be adjusted circumferentially relative to the cam members 18 to hold the valves 17 open for a longer period, thus allowing the piston 4 to approach nearer to the head of the casing 2 before the valves 17 are closed.

While any appropriate type of injector could be utilized for admitting liquid-fuel into the combustion chamber 3 of the engine, there is shown in the present instance a fuel feeding device consisting of a valve 32, Fig. 4, having a point 33 adapted to seat upon a complementary seat portion 34 formed in a tubular plug 35 insulated in the head of the engine casing 2. The plug 35 is insulated from the casing by a suitable insulating material 36 and has a shoulder 37 upon which will press a threaded bushing 38, preferably of a non-conducting material, which fits threads 39 formed for its reception in the head of the casing.

The upper portion of the insulated plug or valve body 35 is internally threaded, as at 40, to fit complementary threads 41, formed upon the upper portion of the valve 32; the latter being connected to a spring 42, one end of which is attached to a nut or ca 43 of the valve body 35. The function 0 the spring 42 is to automatically turn the valve 32 so that, by reason of its threads 41, the latter would be advanced or moved downwardly engage its seat 34 to prevent the passage of fuel oil through the central valve chamber 44, oil being conducted into this chamber through a suitable connection 45.

For the purpose of opening the valve 32 against the force of its closing spring 42 during the operation of the engine and at proper intervals, the upper end of the valve 32 is provided with a crank arm 46 having a crank 47 projecting upwardly and to one side of the cam shaft 20. There is secured on the cam shaft 20 a cam 48 movable once in each rotation into engagement with the crank 47 of the valve 32, so that the turning movement of the valve would cause the opening of the same so as to permit a charge of oil to pass from the valve chamber 44 into the combustion chamber of the engine; the spring 42 on the valve 32 automatically closing the valve with a turning movement as soon as the cam 48 passes from operative engagement.

In Fig. 2 the conductor of the oil feed valve is shown as connected to the compression chamber of a small force pump 51 mounted on the top of the engine casing 2. The piston 52 of the force ump is actuated through an eccentric 53 secured on the shaft 24 and the'eccentricis connected to the piston 52 by a connecting link 54, so that once in every rotation of the shaft 24 the piston 52 will be reciprocated, on one stroke drawing into the pump a charge of fuel oil from a supply connection 55, and forcing the oil from the pump cylinder upon the compression stroke into the compression chamber 50.

From the chamber 50 it will pass through the connection 45 and the valve body 35 into the combustion chamber 3 of the engine when the valve-actuating cam 48 is swung into open engagement with the crank 47 of the valve 32.

By means of the variable cams the degree of compression of a charge of air in the combustion chamber 3 can be changed from time to time for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the power of the engine. The cams are adjusted by the device 28 to hold the valves 17 open longer, when the engine is to be run to generate low ower, and conversely, the cams may be a justed to allow the valves to close earlier when it is desired to run the engine for producing more power. For economizing the quantity of oil consumed in the engine in proportion to the time of closing of the exhaust valves 17, the amount of fuel fed by the oil feeding mechanism at each charge may be varied by a controlling device consisting of an automatic relief device 56 on the force pump 51. The automatic relief device or screw 56 is ad'- justable to vary the pressure at which a charge of oil will accumulate in the pressure chamber 50 of the force pump. Thus when the engine is running as a low power motor and when the adjustable cams 19 are adjusted to hold the valves 17 open for a long period, during the upward stroke of the piston 4, then the screw 56 of the force pump will be adjusted to allow a reduction of pressure in the pressure chamber 50, so that the reduced volume of fuel will be forced past the valve 32, when opened, into the combustion chamber of the engine.

In starting operation of the engine, a suitable fuel may be admitted to the engine past. the valve 32, and initial combustion of a fuel obtained by an electric spark, for which a suitable sparking device may be provided, this being devised and comprising in the present instance in part of the insulated oil feeding device which is insulated by the insulating material 36 from the engine casing. A spark is produced at the lower end of the valve body 35 by connecting to the upper part of the engine casing an electric contact member 57, to which one of the leads 58 of an electric circuit may be connected; the other lead of the circuit being grounded to the casing as is usual. The

current from the contact device 57 is conveyed to the valve body 35 by the enga ment with the device 59 of the extended upper portion of the valve 32, which extended portion 59 is adapted to move into engagement with the contact circuit-closing member 57 as the valve 32 is automatically closed after or during the injection of a charge of fuel into the combustion chamber, whereupon, when the electric circuit is complcted, a spark will be produced at the lower end of the oil feeding device and the fuel ignited.

Actual practice has demonstrated that after initially obtaining combustion of the fuel until the engine becomes heated, the initial ignition device can be eliminated or cut out and the engine will operate to automatically ignite the fuel by the heat generated in the combustion chamber due to combustion and heat of compression.

For conserving at a portion of the engine a relatively high degree of heat for the purpose of igniting the fuel, the present invention is illustrated as being provided with heat retaining devices, one of Which is shown as a projection 60 on the upper end of the piston 4. The projection 60 has a lining 61 of a material, such for instance as tungsten, capable of Withstandin a high temperature for a long period. he tungsten on the projection 60 is insulated, as at 62, and the upper surface of the tungsten heat retainer is exposed and dished as shown. WVhen the piston 4' moves upwardly, the igniter 61 is carried in close juxtaposi-- tion to an igniter cup orplate 63 countersunk in the head of the engine casing 2 and insulated, as at 61. The relatively small ignition plates or devices 61 and 63 are de-- signed to hold a relatively high degree of heat and are preferably of a material capable of withstanding the temperatures encountered for a long period. These heat retaining igniters are so disposed that when the piston 4 movesupwardly and compresses a charge of air in the combustion chamber 3 to the desired degree, then when the iston reaches its maximum position and a c arge of fuel is admitted past the feed .valve 32 the charge will be rapidly ignited by contact with the high temper-attired ignition plates.

In operation, a suitable grade of fuel is initially introduced into the combustion chamber 3 of the engine past the valve 32 and may be ignited either by the sparking produced by the electric spark as provided for, or the engine may be cranked a sufiicient number of times to produce the necessary temperature in the combustion chamber to ignite the charge of fuel. Such practice has successfully performed in' the oper ation of an engine operating under some of the principles involved in the present disclosure. After the engine has been warmed up to the suiiicient temperature, the electric ignition device, if used, can be eliminated and the engine will then continue to operatethe fuel charge being automatically ignite by the temperature of the parts in the combustion chamber.

On the downward stroke of the piston 4 from the expansive force of the combustion of fuel in the combustion chamber 3, a charge of air will be compressed in the compression chamber 13 and the passe. way 16, between the cylinders 5 and 6 of t e casing. Simultaneous with the compression of air in the compression chamber 13 a rarefaction of air or gas, as the case may be, in the inner chamber 7, above the flange 8 of the iston,

will occur. This rarefaction exten s upwardly through an exhaust passageway, indicated in Fig. 2 at 65, which extends upwardly just outside of the cylindrical upper portion of the casing 2 of the engine and enters and communicates with an exhaust chamber 66, above the head of the engine, and into which chamber exhaust gases from the combustion chamber 3 will issue when the exhaust valves 17 are opened by the cams.

As the piston 4 approaches the lowermost portion of the combustion chamber 3, the ca ms 18 will mechanically open the valves 17 and the exhaust gas will-issue, partly by its own force, from the combustion chamber 3 and be induced by the vacuum in the chamber 7, above the piston flange- 8, into said chamber; the eifect of the vacuum in the chamber 7 being to accelerate the rapidity of exhaust, past the valve 17, of gases from the combustion chamber 3. As the piston 4 clears the lower end of the combustion chamber 3 and rides onto the guides 5-5, the compressed air from the compression case 13 and the annular passageway 16 will rush over approximately the entire head of the piston 4 through all of the space formed below the lower end of the combustion cham-. her 3 and the upper end of the piston 4. The inrushing air aids in expelling the higher temperatured burnt gases from the upper portion of the combustion chamber 3 so that the burnt gases will be entirely displaced by a charge of pure air having a slight pressure produced by its compression in the crank case.

As the piston 4 moves upwardly toward and into the combustion chamber 3, the valves 17 will be permitted to close at a predetermined position, due to the peripheral adjustment of the segmental cam parts 19 with relation to their co'ciperative fixed parts 18. As the piston 4 enters and moves upwardly in the combustion chamber 3, the entrapped charge of air is compressed, and simultaneously the upwardly moving flange income portion 8 discharges the induced charge of burnt gases from the chamber 7 through an eduction valve 67 opening outwardly from the engine casing. The valve 67 is capable of freely opening to permit the escape of burnt gases from the chamber 7 as soon as the gases in said chamber exceed the pressure of the light closing spring 68 of the valve 67, so that in the event a pressure of the exhaust gases going from the combustion chamber 3 and passing downwardly through the passageway 65 and into the pump chamber 7 should be sufliciently great it Will freely discharge from the engine through the valve 67 irrespective of whether the piston 4 with its flange 8 has entirely completed its downward cycle. When the downward cycle has been completed, the upward stroke of the piston flange 8 will entirely clear the chamber 7 of all burnt gases previously induced on its down ward stroke, the gases being expelled past the valve 67.

The piston 4 in its upward stroke having reached a predetermined position will begin to compress the charge of air in the chamber 3 as soon as the valves 17 have been closed, and as the piston 4 approaches or reaches the uppermost portion of the chamber 3, a charge of fuel will be injected into the cup shaped countersunk ignition member 63 where, due to the compression of the air.and temperature of the parts, the fuel charge will be ignited. When the piston stars downwardly the expansive force of the burning fuel will be imparted by the piston to the crank and its shaft.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the piston on one of its strokes compresses the charge in the combustion chamber 3 and sucks in a fresh charge into the compression chamber 13 in the crank case, and that on the ignition of the charge the piston compresses the fresh charge in the crank case up to a certain point and sucks the spent gases from the combustion chamber 3 into the pump cylinder 7, and as it uncovers the ports 5 releases the fresh charge into the combustion chamber.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patout is An internal combustion oil engine comprising a crankcase, a casing haviri coaxially' located combustion and pumpc aim here, said combustion chamber having mechanically o erated exhaust ports at the top thereof and sing provided with a centrally located fuel inlet, said pump chamber having a greater diameter than said combustion chamber and having a double casing composed of concentrically arranged walls separated so as to form an annular space therebetween, the outer of said walls forming a part of the engine casing, the inner of said walls having a restricted opening at its uppump chamber, an exhaust connection leading from saidexhaust port to the pump cham- 10 her, and an exhaust port for gases in said chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALMENA o. HARRINGTON, Exec-atria: of the Estate of J 07m Harrington.

Witnesses:

EDWIN L. HARRINGIUN, SAML G. TOMPKINB. 

